


On One Paw

by Capucine



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Animated), Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Agender Character, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Catlad, Angst, Asexual Character, Drama, F/M, Jason Todd is Robin, M/M, Other, Past Child Abuse, Tim Drake is Catlad, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-13
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-04-20 13:12:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 13,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4788452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Capucine/pseuds/Capucine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In an alternate universe where Jason Todd, the second Robin, is not dead and Tim Drake did not become Robin, someone else took Tim Drake under their wing. Namely, Catwoman.</p><p>The young teen develops completely differently under the tutelage of Selina Kyle. But will he survive a world of metahumans and crazed villains? Was Selina smart in bringing Tim on board?</p><p>And will Jason ever stop disliking him?</p><p>Only time can tell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Now, granted, comic books Selina Kyle would probably not take on a sidekick. Not because she's heartless or some shit like that, but precisely because she has a heart. She would be very concerned about putting them in danger.
> 
> However, I've taken a little bit of artistic license, so I hope you like it!

“ _I don't even see anyone,_ ” Jason commented, eyeing the jewelry seemingly undisturbed in its cases. They glittered in the small amount of light, and he turned to look at Miss Martian impatiently. “ _There's nothing disturbed here._ ”

“ _No, I'm picking up on someone..._ ” Miss Martian seemed to be scanning the place with her mind, hand to her temple. She nodded, eyes turned towards a dark corner of the room. “ _Yes. Over there, there's... a boy, I think_.”

“ _I'll check it out._ ” As usual, going with his more rash instincts, Jason darted ahead, ignoring Miss Martian's protest at the action.

The corner was dark indeed, but as he got close, he could make out a shape. Not on the floor, but hanging above it, blending in almost seamlessly to the dark.

“Hey. I can see you! Step out of the shadows!” Jason's first thought, of course, was Catwoman. She had that trademark sneak to her, and jewels were kinda her territory.

But the figure that slowly showed itself was distinctly not curvy. Yes, the catsuit was skintight, and the figure seemingly slinking towards him, but was not Catwoman. Instead, it was a rather boyish figure, and the voice was just barely masculine, it seemed.

“Hey, bird boy. Something you wanted?” The eyes might have been blue had they not been covered with tinted goggles. He was smirking at Jason, and good god there were cat ears on his head.

Jason stuttered, embarrassingly enough. “W-who... I mean, who the fuck are _you_? Catboy?”

“Catperson would be a bit better, but I go by Stray.” The boy turned on a charming grin, and he moved so fast that Jason didn't react in time; the whip wrapped around his arms with a sting, and he was pulled to the floor. “Sorry, but I am leaving here. As wonderful as you are to look at, _especially_ with the way that costume hugs your assets, I believe the silent alarm has been tripped, and it will only be a matter of time before things get decidedly less...lovely.”

“M'gann! Ugh! Fuck you, cat boy!” Jason struggled against the whip, finding it fairly strong.

M'gann came flying in. He could see the cat burglar's eyes widen a moment, taking in her green skin and obvious superhero outfit.

“Hi, pretty lady,” he said with a grin. “Nothing personal with bird boy here, just have places to go without a third wheel.”

M'gann of yesteryear might've blushed and been flustered. Jason had met her a few years back, and knew that she used to be much easier to ruffle. But no, this M'gann was not easily trifled with.

“Surrender, or I will be forced to use my powers on you.” M'gann looked down from the height above him, cape moving a bit in the breeze.

Wait a minute, why was there a breeze indoors?

M'gann came crashing down, as Catwoman herself rode her down to the ground. She stood on the unconscious Martian's back, and gave a slightly disapproving look to Stray.

“You didn't get yourself hurt, did you?”

Stray grinned, the grin a lot brighter and more, well, real, than before. “Nope, fine and dandy! We gonna get out of here?”

Catwoman came down to his side, and delicately looked him over. Then, upon seeing the filled pouch on his waist, she... Petted? Maybe petted was the right word for the affectionate way she touched his head.

And Stray seemed to melt, and Jason was sure if he could, he would have purred.

“Good job, Stray. Come on, let's go.”

Stray was still grinning as he followed Catwoman out, but he did pause to look back at Jason. He winked obviously, then waved goodbye.

Then, just like that, he and Catwoman were out the open window and gone.

Jason cursed. He finally broke out of the whip, and used his comm. “Hey. Yeah, Catwoman was here... and her catboy.”

“Wait, Catboy?” Dick sounded surprised.

M'gann groaned, getting up off the floor.

“Yeah. Catboy. He's gotta be like, three years younger than me,” Jason said, “Anyway, they got away. You know how Catwoman is: slipperier than an eel.”

“I think it's 'more slippery' but I get your point. Is M'gann okay? Are you okay?” Dick sighed over the comm.

“Shut up, dick. And yes, that's without a capital D. M'gann, you okay?” Jason turned to look at M'gann.

She nodded. “I can't believe I didn't notice her sneaking up. She must be good at shielding her mind... Like Batman and Nightwing are. The catboy... not so much. He's like a blaring beacon.”

“Yeah, she's fine, but she'll probably have a headache.” 

“Thanks, Jaybird,” Dick said, “If you can't gather any evidence on where she's striking next, then head back to Mount Justice. In any case, it's important intel to know she's working with a partner.”

The pair investigated the scene a bit, then headed back. There was no trace of Catwoman and Stray, not anything to link them to the scene other than the fact that both of them had seen them there. They found out the cameras were hacked into as well, set on a freeze frame of the rooms.

Whatever Stray was, he was probably the one who'd done it. And that could mean a whole host of problems for hoity-toity businesses that did not want to be burgled.

Jason went to bed that night thinking a bit about the strange catboy. What a weirdo. What kind of guy wore something like that, worked with _Catwoman_ , flirted openly with seemingly anyone... 

He kind of felt sorry for the kid. He couldn't possibly know what he was getting into.

Something about him seemed strangely... familiar, though.

Jason figured he'd put his finger on it in the morning, when he'd had time to sleep on it.

He couldn't wait for Batman to find out about this one. The look on his face would be priceless, Jason was sure.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all should know at this point there will be more than one asexual character. :) And other sexual orientations, of course, and I might tag those too, I guess. Enjoy the update!

Batman had not been pleased at all that there was a Catboy. In fact, he had spent a long time examining records and the like, muttering to himself and clicking and tapping away at the computer.

Jason simply watched, arms folded over his chest. The catboy was strange as all hell, far too seductive for someone his age, in Jason's opinion. It was something he'd seen before, in some ways, and yet totally unlike it.

Stray _liked_ what he did. He didn't seem to do it purely for survival... though of course, Jason's mind was already running dirty with why he did what he did. Catwoman was quite the seductress, and god knew he'd been quite attracted to her for some time...

Not that he was about to admit that. He would not admit to teenage confusion over liking his boss's paramour. He would not admit to anything of the sort.

Batman growled out, “I found him.”

Jason sauntered over to the computer, eyeing the screen. A nine year old boy looked back at him, a sort of deadish look in his blue eyes. He was smiling, a bit, but he looked at the camera like he'd been bred before it, like he'd lived his whole life knowing 'smile for the camera!'

“Uh, Bruce? He wasn't nine.”

“Look at the date, Jason. Four years ago, his parents passed away. Not long after, in fact, not even a week later, he disappeared from his foster home, no trace other than a jimmied lock on the window. No sign of a struggle, either.”

Jason stared at the screen again. It didn't look entirely like Stray. No, Stray was way more... alive. He had confidence and a smirky grin, not the hunched shoulders and lifeless, polite smile pasted on this boy's face. “You sure it's him?”

Suddenly, something clicked. “Oh my god, that's Tim! Tim Drake, from next door!”

“Yes. You probably remember his parents dying and our attendance of the funeral.” Batman went to the next picture, which showed the Drake family in a family portrait on the front page of the newspaper. The parents, Mr. and Mrs. Drake, stood in stiff, perfect form as well-to-do members of society, faint smiles on their faces. Tim sat in the middle, back stiff, smile pasted on, hands folded in his lap.

The headline read, 'DRAKE AND WIFE MURDERED BY MASKED GUNMAN' and the subtitles further explained things.

The Drakes had mysteriously had the underground tailing after them. For no apparent reason, they decided to gun them down.

Jason rolled his eyes. “So, Mr. Drake got too involved in the underworld and died?”

“Yes.” Batman clicked on to the next picture.

This was a picture of Tim Drake as a missing child, age-progressed to the current day. It was vaguely similar to Stray. It still had the dead-eyed look of the original picture, the same polite smile.

Not like anything Stray would probably put on his face today.

Batman sighed.

“We're going to go confront Catwoman, aren't we?” Jason was grinning at the idea. Shocking the Cats on their own turf appealed to him.

“I have located Selina's latest safehouse,” Batman said, shutting things down on the computer. Granted, no one else would access it, but he was big on being safe. “We're heading there now.”

They sped over in the Batmobile, named by Dick ages ago.

That's what happens when you let a nine year old name things, after all.

The building was not especially obvious. It appeared to be a normal enough apartment building, gray stone and with little balconies and the like. As they shot up the side, silent as the night, Jason could see the nighttime pictures of people sleeping or staring into a screen as the light lit up their absorbed faces. He grinned to himself. They had no idea.

They reached the top. It was early in the night, even evening, really, so Catwoman and Stray would not have left yet, hopefully.

Batman opened a sliding door easily, after jimmying the poor lock. It was broken beyond repair.

Jason slid into the room after Batman, and as they did so, the light flicked on.

A lamp illuminated Catwoman, or Selina Kyle, in her civilian garb, sitting on the couch. It was an expensive couch, looking very soft and yet modern. And on her lap... Well, half curled into her lap, was Stray. Or Tim.

He looked incredibly content, sleeping, _sleeping_ , on the sexiest woman in Gotham. He looked like a little kid with a teddy bear. Her hand was delicately petting his head.

“Hello, Bruce. I thought you might visit me soon.” Selina gave a smile to Batman, one half charm and half I-figured-you-out.

“Selina,” he said stiffly. He gesturd towards Tim. “What is this?”

“I think he'd prefer who,” Selina said mildly, still petting his head. “I think you know who he is.”

“You think you can just kidnap a child from foster care and it would go unnoticed?” Batman demanded, coming closer. He eyed Tim like he was a poor, innocent creature caught in Selina's web of lies.

“Yeah, you can't just brainwash people into acting like weird cats!” Jason put in. Batman gave him a look.

Selina laughed, but not too loudly. “Really, how would you expect me to go about fostering and adopting him legally? Not exactly my style. And besides which, there was no brainwashing, and it's not kidnapping, in my opinion. I asked him if he wanted to come with me; he said yes.”

“Maybe we should ask him that,” Jason suggested.

“I do hate to wake him up, but if you must talk to him, I can do that,” Catwoman sighed, and gently, she ruffled his hair.

Tim came awake with a 'mmm?' as if he didn't know what was going on. Which was fair, as he had been sleeping the whole time.

He didn't freak out on seeing Batman like Jason expected. He didn't do anything Jason expected.

He simply said, “Hello, Mr. Wayne.”


	3. Chapter 3

“You told him,” Batman said flatly.

At that, Selina smirked. “Oh no. Never breathed a word; Kitten here figured it out all on his own—at seven years old.”

Tim was looking innocently over at Batman, but there was a decided glow of victory, success, in his eyes. It made Jason want to smack him.

“Wait... that means he knew back when--” Jason started, voice full of shock he didn't intend to put there.

“We were neighbors, yes,” Tim piped up. His voice hadn't exactly changed completely... Jason thought. He actually wasn't sure. It should have changed by now, right? In any case, it was a soft, neutral tone.

He was curled up against Selina still. It made Jason want to puke.

Batman must have seen it too. “Selina. We need to talk in private.”

“But didn't you want to ask him if he came willingly?” Selina said, something of a smirk on her face.

Tim's voice was surprisingly hostile towards Batman. “I came of my own free will. I wanted to be here. Here is...it's home.” He seemed to flush a little at that, like admitting the feeling to _Batman_ was embarrassing.

Jason rolled his eyes. “It's called Stockholm Syndrome, kid--”

“Really? Didn't know you could get that before you even lived with someone!” Tim mock-gasped, “Thanks for that pearl of wisdom, Jason!”

Jason would have charged him, had Batman not caught his shoulder.

“Selina. Alone.”

Selina sighed, gave Tim an affectionate hair ruffle, and patted his back. “Well, you heard him. Best go get some milk, Kitten.”

He seemed to positively beam at the contact, and then, sliding up and onto his feet very much like a cat, in his loose sweatpants and baggy hoodie, he seemed to positively slink towards the other room, presumably the kitchen. He turned at the doorway, smirking. “You coming, birdboy?”

“As if, I get to stay--”

“Go on, Robin.” Batman's tone would have meant no arguments from Dick. But Jason was Jason.

“What, seriously? Come on, I'm your partner!”

Selina laughed. “As Stray is mine. But you'll notice he's been sent from the room. Batman did say 'alone', baby bird.”

Batman was giving him that look. Steaming, Jason stomped towards the kitchen, and followed Tim into it.

Tim was busily doing exactly what Selina had suggested: pouring himself a glass of milk. It was clearly whole milk, especially from the way it left a mustache when he took a sip. He gave a smirky grin over at Jason. “Something to drink, sexy legs?”

Jason sputtered. “What the-- _sexy legs_ , what the hell kinda nickname--”

“Someone doesn't remember his first costume,” Tim said, pouring another glass of milk. “Brief—in more than one sense of the word—though that was, don't think I didn't see it.”

“I was twelve,” Jason grumbled, then he snapped, “I don't have to explain myself to you, you wear a fucking catsuit!”

Tim put the cup of milk in his hand. “Mm, I see. Well, too bad we don't get to see those great gams anymore, huh?”

“I swear, Tim, I'm going to kill you--”

“Tim?” Tim blinked a moment. He raised an eyebrow. “Okay. Tim.”

“What the f—why are you so weird? Of course your name is Tim, I saw it in your fucking record, and I knew you when you were an ugly little brat! What, did you want me to call you Timothy now?” Jason was seething, nearly sloshing the cup of milk in his hand now.

Tim was smirking again. “You and Batman really know very little about me, huh?” He moved among the cabinets gracefully, and got out a box of cookies. Shortbread, it looked like. He looked over at Jason with that devil's spark in his eye. “But I know everything about you. Including Dick, of course.”

“How about I knock it out of your brain, Tim?” Jason growled. Good god, he hated this kid. A thirteen year old should not be this good at pushing his buttons.

Tim just smiled to himself, like he had a secret.

Someone needed to give this kid a good beating. Jason would volunteer, but--

“You know what? I even know about your issues with Dick. But trust me, you can't be him. You'll never be him. Not in a million years. But--”

Tim might not have been smirking, but he was still being an ass. Screw that, Jason volunteered to give this kid the beating of his life, and he cut him off midsentence, throwing the cup of milk at him, and then diving at him. “Shut the fuck up!”

Tim jumped like a scared cat, up and onto the counter. “Jason, don't be a hothead, I was about to say--”

“Yeah, fuck you, what you're about to say is 'Ah, don't hit me, I got a glass jaw!'” Jason got a hold of his hoodie, and yanked it, pulling Tim off the counter.

But instead of colliding with the floor, Tim slipped right out of the hoodie fluidly, and somersaulted away from Jason.

He had a serious, wide-eyed look on his face. It was a cross between 'I know what I'm doing' and fear, Jason would guess. He'd seen that look before, on the streets.

Jason dove at him, and Tim wasn't sneaky or fast enough this time. In his leap away, Jason snagged his ankles, and, using this grip, pulled the skinny little body towards him. “You little shit, you're going to wish you hadn't fucked with me!”

He only saw too late that Tim, as his body squeaked across the floor, had picked up a glass shard. It came towards Jason's unprotected head--

And the wrist was caught by Batman.

A shove with a foot, and a seriously mama bear look from Catwoman, got Jason scrambling away from Tim.

Both adults loomed over them, dark looks on their faces.

Jason said weakly, “Tim started it.”


	4. Chapter 4

Catwoman, or Selina Kyle, looked like she wanted to kill him. Granted, it was hidden behind a veneer of ice, but instead of doing that, she helped Tim to his feet, looking him over. “He didn't do anything to you?”

Batman had released the boy's wrist, as soon as he dropped the glass shard. He was rubbing it. “Yeah, I'm okay.”

“Please explain, Kitten, why you are half-dressed,” Selina said, with the air of someone who was ready to murder.

“Whoa, whoa, I wouldn't ever want to even touch him!” Jason was quick to say, already up and on his feet. His side hurt a little bit where Selina had kicked him. He thought he must have been imagining the hurt look on Tim's face before he sharply looked away.

Selina was giving him the evil eye. “Explain.”

“Okay, so, he was being a little shit and so I tried—started to, kick his ass. That's all!” Jason insisted, and looked over at Batman. He startled a little at the glare. “What?”

The look on Batman's face promised some revisiting of the 'you need to manage your temper' speech plus training. He said, in a voice that was quite controlled, “Thank you for the information, Selina. Robin and I will be leaving—for now. Don't think I won't keep tabs.”

“I wouldn't expect anything else,” Catwoman said, a smirk on her lips.

“Wait wait wait... we're leaving the kid with _her_?” Jason demanded, as Tim slipped back on his hoodie.

“ _The kid_ is more than capable of making his own decisions,” Tim snapped, a cross look on his face. “By the way, you don't quite fill out that cape right.”

Jason growled, ready to charge Tim again. But the sharp look from Batman made him not do it.

“What? Come on, you guys heard him that time, he's a little shit!” Jason snapped, gesturing violently towards Tim.

Selina didn't seem to particularly care. She gave Jason a look, half flirtatious smirk, which made him a bit uncomfortable (warm, weird feelings), and half ice cold killer. “If you lay a finger on my Kitten again, trust me, I'll treat you just like an uncontrollable tom cat.”

He paled. 

He could see Tim sullenly looking away. He'd expected him to gloat, but instead his arms were crossed and face turned away.

Batman harrumphed loudly. “Selina...”

“I know, Bruce. Just keep your Robin away from my Stray,” Selina said, and she turned back to Tim. She wrapped an arm around his shoulder, adding, “I think you both should go.”

Batman was frowning, but since when didn't he frown? They both left.

Jason was grumbling on the ride back. “We should have just arrested them. You know, since they're criminals? And she's literally a kidnapper? You know, snatching children from their homes and turning them into--”

“He's best off with her.” Batman said this flatly.

Jason stared a moment. “What—why?”

“You know that the juvenile prison is much worse than the typical prison, even in Gotham,” Batman said, eyes on the road, “And he'd be eaten alive in prison.”

“Yeah, well, maybe he should just learn to toughen up,” Jason grumbled. “Shouldn't be breaking the law if he doesn't want to go to jail.”

Batman said, “A little hypocritical, don't you think?”

Jason's temper flared again. He gripped the sides of his seat to keep from doing something stupid. “Oh yeah? You try starving on the streets, then tell me how easy it is to follow the law! Completely different situation, Bruce!”

Batman was quiet a moment. They made a turn, and as they did, he said, “He's a different case. Selina says he's been stalking you, me, and Dick for years—even in costume. Apparently, he was taking pictures of us from about seven onwards, or younger. And he's kept tabs even when he was... taken in, by Selina.”

Jason stared a moment. “Uh... wait, how the hell did a little kid go unnoticed? And who the hell lets their kid roam fucking Gotham in the middle of the night?”

Batman sighed. “Apparently, his parents tended to neglect him. Selina said when she first took him in, he wasn't used to being touched, except on the rare occasion to hurt. She said he barely even talked.”

Jason ignored how Batman had avoided answering how a seven year old escaped both his and Dick's attention, and said, “That's not...” Then he actually remembered little Tim Drake, the next door neighbor. He couldn't, for the life of him, ever recall Tim speaking a word. At least, not before recently.

“It lines up with my interactions with him,” Batman said. “Selina's... actually done well with him.”

“Are you joking? Did you see him? He called me sexy legs, and said it was a shame we didn't get to see my gams anymore! It's fucking weird!” Jason glared at the windshield in front of him. “We should rescue him. Turn him in to child services and get him a normal fucking home.”

Batman turned an eye on Jason. “You avoided foster care for a reason, Jason.”

Jason crossed his arms tightly. “Yeah, well...” He couldn't say, 'I hate Tim that much.' He couldn't say, 'Well, sometimes it works out.'

Batman seemed to take the silence as victory.

They pulled into the Batcave (also named by nine year old Dick), and Batman parked the Batmobile in its spot.

Jason got out quickly, and ran up to the training area to kill a punching bag. He couldn't explain why he felt so angry about Tim. Or Catboy. Or Stray, or whatever the fuck the weirdo wanted to be called. 

Batman said, “I'll patrol solo tonight. You need to work out your anger--” he cut Jason off when he started to protest. “--on non-sentient things.”

Jason growled and slammed his leg into the bag, sending it jolting on its chains.

Batman turned to leave, though he did turn back to say, “Perhaps you should talk to... Alfred, about this.”

Jason responded by slamming his fist into the punching bag.

Batman left without another word.


	5. Chapter 5

Jason saw Tim, or Catlad or Stray or whatever, not because he was on another mission.

No. He had pointedly sought the feline-themed thief out.

At least, he was following him, and the thief was very good at disappearing and hiding and blending in, so this was very hard to do. At least, it was a big challenge. 

Jason managed, of course, because he was taught by Batman and he'd had to live up to Dick so there was no way he'd slacked on anything. He was not going to be the second-rate Robin, the one that was a cheap replacement, like from China or something.

So, when he finally saw Tim slipping into the presumed target, he silently cheered. He'd done it. He'd followed him all the way here.

Now to get him caught.

He sneaked up to the building, and ignored the vent that Tim had gone through. That was where Tim would expect him to follow, if he knew he was being followed. Which was really unlikely, given that Jason had changed to his covert gear and was a master of stealth.

He made his own opening, slipping into the building silently.

Now, his intelligence seemed to point to a certain item that Tim was after: some rubies called the Cats' Eyes or something. They were identically cut and considered very valuable. Well, obviously, or else Tim wouldn't steal them.

Plus, you know, the whole cat thing.

He rolled his eyes at the predictability, and headed in. The place was dark, but the laser security system was turned off, so Jason could walk along the floor. He could see no movement yet, but he felt like he'd be able to make out the movement of Tim as soon as he tried it.

There. There were the Cats' Eyes, glittering slightly even in this faint amount of light.

But where was Tim?

A flutter of movement caught his attention, and he could make out the inky blackness of what must have been Tim's catsuit, so he stepped towards it--

And found himself flailing at the end of a bruising loop around his ankle. One moment, standing, the next, all the blood rushing to his head.

“Fuck!” he hissed out, momentarily disoriented.

He heard soft laughter. Well, almost laughter, more like giggles.

Goddamn Tim.

The boy came walking out of the shadows, a certain amount of sway to his hips that really should not have been there, in Jason's opinion, as it was very distracting and annoying. He wasn't a girl, it wasn't fair.

There was the slightest of glints on his goggles, still the tinted ones from before, and he slid them up, smirking at Jason. “My, my, my...” he said, apparently in his best imitation of Selina, “Look what I caught.”

“Fuck you, Stray! I'll be down in a minute, and you're going to wish you hadn't been so fucking stupid!” Jason growled, pulling a birdarang out of his belt.

There was a sharp sting, well, more than a sting, and the birdarang was dropped from his hand. He saw the whip recoil back to Tim, who left it hanging behind him as if he would use it again. “You may want to rethink that, Boy Wonder.”

Jason snarled incoherently, hand throbbing, ankle throbbing, whole body feeling just stupid with being upside down. “The fuck do you want, Tim?”

Tim raised his eyebrows, blue eyes wide with feigned surprise. “What do _I_ want? Sexy legs, I'm not the one who tailed you all the way to whatever it is you do. I just saw you and set this up. Which, by the way, we have, mm... maybe fifteen minutes to do this? Of course, I intend to leave you here for twenty, but, wherever the evening takes us, you know.”

“Tim, I'm going to kill you. Cut me down, or let me cut myself down!”

“That's really great incentive, _Robin_ , though I'm going to have to pass, and I'd appreciate a little more discretion. Not to mention, I don't go by that name anymore.” Tim was looking rather unimpressed, idly flicking his whip.

Jason was fighting hard not to just get angry. Well, he was angry, but he was fighting not to let it control him.

“T-- _Stray_ , if you don't let me down, Batman himself is going to come after you.”

“Mm. I see.” Tim—Stray, whatever, didn't look impressed. Maybe it was a facade. “Well, I'm sure you'll love explaining to him why exactly you broke into a museum and got caught. Make sure you tell him how great my ass looks in this suit.”

“Stray,” Jason stopped himself, counted to ten, even with the lack of time he had. His brain was threatening to explode, and that was never a good thing. 

“I would like some explanation, though, and then maybe I'll let you go. Sound fair?” Stray had one hand on his hip, was looking at Jason seriously. 

Jason huffed. “Fine. Fine! As long as it's not confidential, I will explain something to your stupid catboy brain.”

Stray looked amused, but before he could respond, there was the sound of the large double doors slamming open. Men barreled through, armed and obviously dangerous.

Stray had paled, and swiftly pulled down his goggles. “Shit. Shit!”

He turned to run, obviously not like Jason, a strong fighter, and that was when there was the sound of something being shot. It didn't quite sound like a gun, less... loud, kaboomy, whatever.

All Jason knew was that one second, Stray was running; the next, he'd kind of staggered sideways shaking like jello and slammed into a display. A tuft of pink seemed to be on his shoulder.

Jason was quick to draw his birdarang and cut the loop, but it was too late; he got hit by a dart before he'd even hit the floor. His vision went all purple-pink-green, and the floor lurched at him; he hit it hard, and blacked out not long after.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for transphobia, though mostly ignorance, from Jason.

Jason woke up with a mouth that tasted like cotton. He moved his tongue around absently, trying to get rid of the feeling, before he got a look around.

Okay. He in a sort of cell. It didn't look like the Gotham jail, though, so he was probably in serious trouble. Well, it would be trouble if he was arrested too, but a different sort of trouble, and at least Stray---

Oh, that was him right there, across from him and curled up with his arms wrapped around his head...and vomit on the floor near him. Ew. Jason stepped across, avoiding the puke, before nudging the catboy with his boot.

“Hey.”

Stray made a small noise, sounding rather like pain.

“My head hurts too,” Jason grumbled, though of course, his first aid assessment skills were already kicking in. Stray looked pale on the bit of skin that Jason could see, and he was obviously hurting. Must have hit his head harder on the display than it looked like—though that had looked _pretty_ painful. Going full tilt into one of those marble things had to hurt like a motherfucker.

“Yeah, whoop-de-doo for you,” Stray moaned, shifting into a tighter curl.

Jason rolled his eyes. As usual, Stray was being an idiot. “Hey. Stupid. I'm trying to help, not because I like you or anything, cause you're an ass, but because I'm a fucking good person.”

If Batman had heard his language...but Batman wasn't here.

“Okay.” Stray just agreed. And that was wrong, somehow, too passive.

A very bad sign.

“I need to see your head, and then your eyes,” Jason said, dropping into a crouch by Stray. He peeled back his hands easily, and pulled off his cowl and goggles with no resistance.

Stray's head was like a broken fire hydrant. Okay, maybe it wasn't really gushing that much, but the side of his head was matted with blood, and Jason realized the cowl was quite sticky too. He groaned, and stripped off his cape, made to be rather absorbent in such situations, and pressed it against the spot the blood seemed to be coming from.

Seemed. He just hoped he was right.

He managed to turn Stray's head, and checked his eyes. They were calm, very blue, and the pupils didn't move, dilate or contract, when he did a sort of concussion check.

It would have been easier with a flashlight of some kind, but obviously his belt was taken away.

“Hey, Tim--”

“Not my name,” Stray mumbled, and then, of all the things to do, he started to try to sit up. Jason caught hold of him, holding him down and the cape in place.

“Hey, Stray! Stop, you need to stay still, idiot!”

“No, 'm fine, I got stuff to do,” Stray muttered, in a rather dazed way. “Don't touch me.”

“Well, I kind of have to touch you if you're going to be an idiot!” Jason snapped back, keeping a tight hold on Stray.

Stray was a bit tense, shifted uncomfortably in his grip, but didn't fight him. He brought up his hands, trying to touch his head, and of course, remove the cape so he could feel the injury, apparently.

“Stray, I will keep calling you Tim if you don't stop it!” Jason threatened, and after a moment's deliberation, Stray apparently decided this was a good enough reason to stop. Jason wasn't sure how much more of this he could handle before he did something he'd regret.

“Okay. Stray. Tell me why the hell you sprung a trap on me!”

“Hm? Mm? Uh... cause you were... yeah, that's it.”

“Stray, that's not an answer!”

“Oh. Don't touch me,” he said, starting to move again, and Jason held him tighter.

“Stray. Answer the question! What was your goal?”

“Wanneda get you off my back,” Stray admitted, still tense, still squirming. It was getting harder to keep the cape in place.

“Then what was with all the flirting?” Jason demanded, but as soon as he said it, his cheeks went hot. Not fair, he wasn't even turned on by guys! Why did Stray so bother him? There was just something so off...

“Mm? Oh. Just a thing.”

He said it as if that explained everything.

“Well, good, cause you're fucking thirteen and I'm going to be sixteen very soon! I mean, yech!” Jason said, and for a moment, he thought he saw a hurt expression on Stray's face. No, actually, for more than a moment. Stray's expressions weren't as guarded as normal now.

“Fuck you,” Stray said eloquently, squirming again.

“Oh come on, I was supposed to find a weird, Dude-looks-like -a-lady kid hot or something?” Jason demanded, rather annoyed that Stray would act like this. “I mean, you're a guy who acts like a chick!”

“'m not a guy,” Stray said, and this was said with surprising vehemence, enough that Jason didn't immediately dismiss it was part of the concussion symptoms.

“Uh, what? Are you supposed to be a girl or something?”

Stray gave him an off-focus glare. “Don't...have to look like a girl...to be one. An' not a girl, anyway.”

“Uh... Hermaphrodite?” Jason tried. "Like, you got all the parts? Though, to be fair, you've got pretty much no boobs..."

“Transphobe,” Stray responded. “Fuck you.”

It was clear that 'transphobe' was supposed to be what Jason was, not Stray's gender. Jason rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Be a weirdo. Whatever the hell you are, we're getting out of here.”

Jason decided, for now, to chalk up Stray's strange whatever to having a concussion. He went by 'he', after all. He was just confused, and with that hit to the head, it was no wonder.

He held Stray tighter as the thief fought feebly to escape his hold. Because, obviously, he would only hurt himself at this point, given his propensity for trying to remove the cape, the only thing that was keeping him from bleeding to death.

God, Selina had probably really fucked him up.

Jason looked up then, as the cell door slid open, and a figure in a combat suit and a full mask seemed to look down on them.

This could not be good.


	7. Chapter 7

Stray was struggling just a little still. He was utterly silent, no longer making nonsensical statements or what have you.

Which suited Jason fine, of course, but he would much rather not be here at all, facing a masked man and basically crippled by Stray's injury. Cause, if he let him go, he had no doubt that the kid would bleed to death, and as weird as he was, he didn't want that to happen.

The man sounded like he was smiling. “Ah. I see you two have...gotten acquainted.”

“I'm trying to stop him from bleeding to death, you sick fuck!” Jason snapped back, and he really wasn't supposed to cuss in costume, cause you know, breaking bones and all was sort of okay, but one dirty word slipping from _the_ Robin's mouth? Nope, no sir, not under Batman's rules.

Stray mumbled something, struggling a little less feebly. Jason held him tighter.

“The fuck do you want?”

The man chuckled, so he probably had been smiling. “Not much from you; your purpose is to draw the Bat here. Of course...” and even with the mask, his eyes seemed to slide over Stray, “We don't have much use for a child cat burglar; no bone to pick with Catwoman, necessarily, but no reason to do anything nice for her.”

Stray gave another attempt at breaking free from Jason; Jason still contained him. 

“Yeah, whatever. So leave him the fuck alone, and we'll see what Batman does with him when he's through kicking your asses. You done with your villainous spiel or whatever?” Jason drawled, rather unimpressed.

This seemed to anger the masked man, a talent Jason was quite in possession of—and often didn't know how to control. The man nodded to another man on his right, this one not as masked, but identity still concealed by a ski mask. Which was very cheap compared to the obviously custom made one on the weird dude's face.

The ski mask guy came forward towards Stray and Jason, and Jason instinctively shielded Stray. “Hey! Fucking loser in the ski mask, yeah, you! Don't touch the cat kid, kay? Cause I don't particularly want to explain to Catwoman what the fuck happened to Stray, that woman's a fucking bitch.”

The humor of the statement was lost on the masked man and the ski mask guy. The ski mask guy leaned in and seized the front of Stray's catsuit, somehow managing a very good grip; Stray let out a strangled moan, a sound of pain—and even fear, Jason realized.

But Jason struck, hard, on the man's wrist, hitting a pressure point.

The man grunted in pain, withdrawing his arm, only to sock Jason in the face with his other one. 

The masked man laughed, as Jason spat out a mouthful of blood. “Well. I see you have a big mouth as well as a very protective nature. Interesting combination. But unfortunately for you, not only will it lead most likely to your premature death in the future, but it's going to lead to rather dismal consequences now. Seize the catboy.”

The other men, all wearing ski masks, surged forward, and Jason really didn't have a shot, cause it was one thing to fight people, even a group, though numbers severely tipped things out of his favor—but it was another entirely to try to defend someone else on top of it, someone fairly defenseless.

He was all but hog-tied by the end, growling and shouting out his fury. The pain was nothing; the anger was all consuming.

To his credit, Stray wobbled onto his feet, the cape dropping off his head (damnit, Stray, Jason growled to himself) and he shakily slid into a more basic martial arts stance—attack stance, from Karate. Well, at least the kid had some idea how to fight.

It didn't do him much good, cause no matter how good he might have been, with a head injury like that, he simply wasn't.

It was kinda like getting kicked in the stomach, watching Stray get beat down. He was too young and vulnerable to deserve such a beating, and his cries of pain, as he tried to shield his head, had Jason shouting his head off, every curse he knew flying forth.

The masked man chuckled, as Stray was finally left as a battered heap on the floor. His chest rose and fell, but with the slow trickle from his head wound, plus the obviously contorted state of his left arm, he probably was going to pass out soon—and possibly die.

“What the fuck do you want?” Jason practically screamed at the masked man.

“Nothing from you, Boy Wonder, as I said. You are merely bait...and this is merely entertainment.” The masked man seemed to smile condescendingly, cruelly at him, even though Jason could not see his face.

“Fuck you!” Jason shouted back.

The man responded by stepping on Stray's ankle, a loud crack coming through and a shockingly feeble whimper coming from Stray.

Jason had to think fast if he was going to keep Stray alive. Tamp down the anger, or Stray will definitely die, Jason reminded himself rather feverishly, head feeling like it was boiling. “I can...give you information, if you just leave Stray alone.”

“I see. And what makes you think I _want_ this information?” the masked man said, striding over to Jason.

“Cause, you're an intelligent asshole, of course you want to know Batman's secrets...right?” Jason cringed automatically and regretted calling him an asshole as the masked man's gaze swivelled towards Stray, but then it turned back.

“All right. Let's see if this information is worth keeping the catboy alive.”

If Jason was good at something, it was spinning a lie. And all good lies had an element of truth to them.

“You know the rumors? It's true. It's completely true.”

The masked man leaned in in interest.

“Batman is a metahuman.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! Combination of real life (like, unexpectedly getting a job) and general writer's block. :P
> 
> But yeah, I hope y'all like it! I quite enjoy this story.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason tries his hardest to keep Stray alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for torture?

Jason wasn't certain on how to keep the lie going, but the cogs were whirring in his head, the thoughts racing along like streaks of lightning.

The masked man gestured for him to continue.

Jason had to buy as much time as possible, right? So he started spinning a tale. "You'd think since he's called 'Batman' he'd be like some sort of bat hybrid or something, right? But that's the thing--his powers don't relate to bats. He chose it because it was scary, because it's a thing of the night. Bloodsuckers and all that shit. People'd practically shit themselves if a live bat landed on them, after all--"

Stray let out a small whimper, as he clearly tried to move--the sound was agonized, like it was fighting its way out of his lungs and hurt to make but couldn't be stopped.

Goddamnit, at least stay still if you're not going to stop up the blood!

Jason continued on. "But, yeah--no. He actually has some sorta special blood--I think. I'm a little iffy on the details, but it's what makes him so deadly--it heals him, it poisons his enemies, it gives spectacular reflexes and stamina and shit...so yeah. He's superhuman--a meta. And that's why he's so damn good, kay?"

The idea of stalling until Batman could find them was starting to sound more and more horrible as Stray seemed to get more gray-faced.

"How did he become a meta?" the masked man demanded.

Jason almost felt his eyes bug out in frustration. "Born with it. Now, Stray--"

"Is going to wait, for now. Tell me more--if we got our hands on his blood, what use would it be? And why would he choose you and the other ones for helpers? Are you metahuman too?"

"Uh, uh, I don't know, kay? I don't--biology shit isn't my forte--and uh, I'm...metahuman too, but not big-time. Like, uh--" he had to be careful what he said, or they might test it out. Goddamnit, what was something easy? "I have enhanced vision."

Shit, that was not a good choice. He carried on quickly. "Nightwing's extra flexible and agile, Batgirl has telepathy--plus minor superstrength, actually, but uh--"

"I see. Let's test out those eyes of yours, then, hm?"

"Fucking--Stray's gonna die if you keep--"

"If you keep using up time, he probably will, Robin."

He could see Stray's eyes on him hazily, like he wasn't certain if this was real or not. Jason could see tear tracks through blood on his face, just barely, and it was enough to make him want to sympathy-puke. 

"Okay! Okay, what do you want me to fucking do?"

"Hm...perhaps watch this. Narrate what you see."

That...was too easy. But wait, what was the thing that he wanted him to watch? Jason's heart was beating in his chest, as he nodded, feeling like he might swallow his tongue.

The masked man flicked out a knife. But he walked towards Stray--and there was not a thing Jason could do about it, hog-tied as he was. Fuck this guy.

Stray was already out of it, so beaten and probably suffering from blood loss, but when the man pressed a thumb against his neck, he let out a noise of discomfort, trying to move his neck away.

Jason's breath caught in his throat.

"Tell me, bird, what is my thumb pressing against? What specific vein?"

"Th-the jugular," Jason managed, trying so hard to hide his fear that the man was about to open up Stray's neck.

The man nodded. "Good job. Let's move on."

And he cut open the sleeve of Stray's suit, leaving the arm bare and quivering in cold and pain. He easily lifted the pale arm, and pressed the tip of the knife against the inside. "How about this one? An artery, a vein? What is its name?"

Jason managed, struggling for the information, "That's the--the brachial artery."

Fuck, fuck, why didn't he know more goddamn anatomy? His stomach was already clenching in dread at more obscure veins and arteries and shit--and what if he asked for crazy shit that no one outside of the medical field knew?

"Very good, Robin."

He let the arm down surprisingly gently, and Jason could see Stray use it to try to crawl away, fingers digging into the concrete surface as his breaths came in pained little huffs--but it was no use.

The agonized cry he let out when he was flipped over, jostling broken arm and ankle alike, made Jason shudder, rage and cold fear going through him at once. Stray's pant leg was cut off, leaving a bare leg, and he could see the way Stray was trying to curl away, not entirely aware, if one went by the look in his blue eyes, but scared, feeling entirely violated.

"This one?" The man pressed the knife against a spot on Stray's thigh.

And fuck, fuck--Jason knew it was femoral, but was it a vein or artery? How the fuck was he supposed to know, they were too goddamn close together! "Femoral," he tried, but the masked man shook his head slowly.

"Full answer, please."

Jason was near tears himself--half rage. He didn't know how to answer.

"Are you telling me you can't see the difference?" The man taunted, "What about your enhanced vision? Do tell me, how is it enhanced?"

Jason was trying to figure out an answer--to one question or the other. One that would protect Stray, until Batman and Catwoman could find them. "N-night vision," he finally said, "It's mostly night vision."

"Not that useful, is it?" the masked man commented. One hand was still on Stray's thigh, holding him there--the other was holding the knife against the artery or vein.

"No," Jason murmured.

"Well," the masked man said, almost conversationally, "You can use those enhanced eyes to watch me do this, then--learn all the places blood can come from the hard way, huh, boy?"

And his knife started to split open Stray's catsuit.

Jason had barely begun to scream curses at him before the goddamn wall blew open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah. I kind of shied away from this story for a bit--I just got nervous. And then forgot about it. Then I realized that was silly and I should update. So yeah.
> 
> Hope any remaining readers liked it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason and Tim's rescuers arrive!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy! I got this done, but I think I need to sleep a lot.

The wall blew open like someone hitting it with a goddamn building. It wasn't a building, Jason knew, when the dust cleared--it was Superboy, flanked by Miss Martian (who was frankly looking rather terrifying) and Artemis.

Her arrow was aimed for the masked man's head, and she said, "Want to find out if your mask will stop an arrow?"

Artemis talked a lot about 'quitting the game' but she was really in her element, Jason thought a touch hysterically. 

The man dropped the knife and Stray, who let out a weak, pained noise at hitting the ground. The back of his suit was open, baring a pale back and ass to the world, but it really wasn't one of those kind of moments--Jason had never been certain on his own orientation, but he couldn't even imagine thinking of it in a sexual way, or of anything other than _how dare you hurt him, he's a fucking kid_.

He found himself just seeming to deflate, as Miss Martian made it to Stray first, examining his injuries quickly. It was okay. They made it.

He started giggling, of all things, and even as Superboy was looking at him in relative horror, he couldn't stop. The ridiculous thought that Stray's suit was skin-tight anyway and he wasn't _really_ seeing anything new made him giggle harder, as his eyes burned.

"Little Wing."

Dick was here, tone half-business, half-concern. A lot of concern. He cut through Jason's bonds with a wing-ding, and Jason simply unfolded onto the floor, finding he didn't have much strength to stand up. And he still couldn't stop giggling.

He could tell by Dick's pinched mouth that he was worried, but didn't want to compromise anything in this territory.

"Should have--" Jason hiccuped, unable to stop giggling, "Should have known shit, right? Should have studied and shit. Ha, veins and arteries and shit--'Nobody needs to know all of them!'" and that was about when he burst into positively hysterical laughter and his vision seemed to go white and crackly at the edges.

Dick ignored protocol for once, it seemed, and he and Jason weren't really close, but close enough, Jason guessed, because he was suddenly in Dick's arms, picked up and held tightly as he was swiftly moved towards the hole in the wall.

This was more affectionate than a simple carry needed to be, and Jason found that burst the dam, as soon as he was inside the ship.

He burst into goddamn tears, like a tiny child, like the one he used to be. Like he hadn't been in so long. The enormity of the thing passed over him, his severe helplessness, the fact Stray might be _dead_ even now, the masked man wasn't even a goddamn power player and he'd had them at his complete mercy and Jason had sworn to _never be there again--_

He sobbed. If he hadn't been picked up, he probably would have secluded himself, but Dick was here, he was held, and so he felt almost like he couldn't hold it back. "The cat--" he managed, between heaving sobs that felt like they were going to force his goddamn lungs out of his mouth.

"They have him. They teleported him up, he will be okay." Dick was fast, reassuring. A grim bent to his mouth. His hold was tight.

And that was the last bit Jason needed to know. He rested his face against Dick's chest armor, the hard surface hardly anything other than emotionally comforting.

Dick stayed there with him for a bit, and goddamn, Jason wasn't that much smaller, how was he folded like this in Dick's arms? He felt almost like a child.

But then Dick, as if he could sense the rising antsy feelings as Jason's crying tapered off, loosened his hold a bit, saying, "I'm going to look you over for injuries, okay?"

Jason nodded. Dick moved him to the med table, and goddamnit, didn't Dick know he was capable of moving himself? He moving himself into an upright position, shoulders hunched. 

Dick peeled off his suit, easily knowing where all the clasps were, and if it weren't _Dick_ , who'd had a hand in designing the costume and such, it would be creepy. Plus, you know, he was his big brother.

Everyone has a big brother who undresses them.

Jason found himself snorting out a laugh.

Dick didn't ask, just checked his ribs. Sitting there in his undershirt and boxer shorts was not bad, but Jason found that his skin felt trembling anyway.

Dick put a hand on Jason's face, turning it to get a look at his swollen lip, which throbbed at that exact moment, reminding Jason it was there. "We're gonna want some ice."

Pretty soon, he was pressing a soft blue color ice pack to his lip, the trembling intensifying at the cold. Dick draped a blanket around his shoulders just as Barbara entered, and immediately dropped to Jason's side on the med table. "Hey. Jay, I was worried--how is he?"

She was looking to Dick now.

Dick nodded. "He's gonna be okay." He affectionately ruffled Jay's hair, almost a petting instead with how much more gentle he was than he should have been. "You did good following capture rules, Little Wing."

He didn't mention that Jason had gone out on his own and gotten captured. Jason would bet that he was going to that earful from Batman himself.

He laughed again. "Bats's gonna tear me a n-n-new one, huh?"

Barbara wrapped her arms around him as his teeth seemed to chatter, and Dick got another blanket at that point. "He might, he might not. I'm going to be there, anyway," Barbara said, tone saying, 'You've probably been punished more than enough.'

Her tone also said, 'Thank god the consequences weren't fatal.'

He leaned into her (for her warmth, okay?) at that point, and Dick wrapped another blanket around him. "You're okay, Little Wing."

Yeah. Let's hope he stayed okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My internet's being a bitch on top of this. Dunno what's up with that, but it happened directly after I refused to get frozen pierogis for my mom, so...potential for foul play, lol.
> 
> (Tbc, I didn't do it to be bad, it was just a long walk for me at that moment after getting home from work and caffeine high wearing off and three hours' sleep and shit)


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason finds out that Stray's recovery is not going to be as simple as he hoped.

Jason spent the next day recuperating, waiting anxiously for word of the Catkid. Of Stray.

And he wished he knew his real name, since it wasn’t Tim anymore. He wished he hadn’t followed him, hadn’t fought with him, cause god, if the kid died, how the fuck was he supposed to live with himself? How could he expect Selina to forgive him? How could the kid…

The kid’d be all right. Jason knew that thirteen year olds died every day, but this one couldn’t, he repeated stubbornly. He simply couldn’t.

He’d been filled in on the reason for the kidnapping: Penguin had put a bounty on his head. Jason’s head, that is, as well as Dick’s, for a humiliating stunt they pulled. The plan had been to lure Dick out with him, and a message had indeed been sent.

They just hadn’t counted on Dick taking the gamble of getting his friends involved instead of submitting.

The would be bounty hunter hadn’t dealt much with superheroes before, and was not a big name as compared to the likes of Sportsmaster or Deathstroke. Jason heard him described by Dick as ‘a bastard trying to be Bruce Willis or something’ but he wasn’t certain that was an accurate movie reference.

He had been sitting on the couch. Bruce, or Batman, hadn’t torn him a new one yet. He seemed to brood around, disappear for a lot of the time to the cave.

Babs was around, though. At that moment, she was tapping away on her laptop, because education waited for no man. She sat in a comfy armchair, a wireless mouse precariously balanced on the arm as she made a powerpoint.

Dick was not. No surprise there, he didn’t always like to be around the manor and he was a busy guy.

He still remembered the win, the smirk on Dick’s face, the stupid grin on his own. The feeling of, ‘This is having a brother. This is a family.’

Which was fucking stupid, okay? Cause there was no way in hell that Dick was going to do that again after this debacle. It had been hard enough to get him to hang around at all, to do anything with him—not that Jason _needed_ that or anything, he just liked it, he’d be fine. Dick could go do whatever the hell he wanted elsewhere, if that was what he wanted.

What mattered right now was Stray, Jason decided.

And Babs looked up suddenly, saying, “News.”

Jason darted over to her chair, leaning over the arm as he sat next to it. A position he occasionally took for movies or so on she wanted to show him, honestly.

This time, it wasn’t for fun, though.

It was a feed. There was Karen, aka Bumblebee, at the screen. She tended to occasionally man the screen when she was working with The Atom on the Watch Tower and had a break. Her brown eyes were sympathetic to Jason. “Hey guys. Stray is pulling through okay. He gave us some scares, but he’s stable now—and he wants to talk to you.”

Jason’s brows shot up. The fuck? Why in hell’s name would the kid be asking for him? He got him caught there.

But a battered and casted Stray came onscreen, sans costume but wearing a medical gown that hung off one pale shoulder. His lip looked bruised but not swollen as he said, “Hi.”

There was something far less easygoing about it. Not like the ease that Stray usually communicated with. God, if the kid could still talk, that was probably a fucking miracle. His blue eyes seemed to be searching through the screen for something, almost shyly.

Jason nodded at Stray. “Hey kid. They treating you good?”

Stray nodded, just a bit. He said, uncertainly, “I’m not…a permanent guest, am I?”

Oh god, he probably thought he was arrested or some shit. And yeah, like, he was technically a criminal, but good god, if he thought they would arrest him after all that…

They’d better not.

“No, course not,” Jason assured, and that was a really stupid lump in his throat that he didn’t give permission to form, okay? There was no reason to fear what would happen to Stray. He was a good kid, he was going to be all right.

Babs glanced over at Jason, as if unsure if he should be making such assurances. Fuck her, the kid would only do better without fear anyway.

Well…not fuck her. She was important, just…he also didn’t want Stray to be scared. Kid’d been through enough.

“I…I want to go home,” Stray said, and his eyes were trying to meet Jason’s in a way that was very familiar—

Oh god. _Oh god._

He _trusted_ Jason. He thought he would protect him from them keeping him or harming him. And…and, of course, Jason wanted to…but he only had so much power.

Bruce had come into the room at that point, frowning deeply. He eyed Stray from where he was, out of view of the screen, and said nothing.

“Hey, uh, Stray—“

“Sky.”

“What?” Jason stared at Stray, trying to figure out what the hell he was talking about.

“I, uh…my name is Sky. Cause, when I chose it, I wanted to fly…like Dick Grayson. I don’t know, it’s, uh…” He seemed embarrassed at the admission, even though the name seemed to mean a lot to him anyway.

“Okay, Sky. You’re going to be okay, I promise.” Jason knew he’d made the promise prematurely when Bruce gave him a sharp look. “He is,” Jason affirmed to Bruce, though at the same time questioning, almost pleading.

He didn’t want to ruin Stray—Sky’s life.

“Please disconnect, Karen,” Bruce said.

There was clear panic at this on Sky’s face. “Wait! Selina’ll be worried, has anyone told her--!”

It cut off.

“The fuck?!” Jason demanded.

The look Bruce gave him made him wish he hadn’t asked. Things were about to get majorly messy.

And it was Jason’s fault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta da! Enjoy.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason visits Stray while he's recuperating. It actually goes kinda well.

Jason could have screamed.

Bruce had explained that now that Stray’s identity and/or existence was known to most of the superhero community, and now that he had been so hurt, most of them were not okay allowing it to continue.

Sky Achelois Kyle, legally known as Timothy Jackson Drake, was a child in a dangerous situation, and it was unsettling to think of leaving him there. According to the good, responsible heroes, of course.

Though, what the fuck kinda name was Achelois? Jason didn’t even know how to pronounce it.

More importantly, though, they were gonna rip Stray from the only loving parent he’d ever known. Selina Kyle might have been a cat burglar and a criminal and kinda weird (at least to Jason), but he knew she gave a damn about Sky and his wellbeing. 

And he didn’t think a kid who was neither (or both?) genders was going to do well in almost any foster home. Or prison. Or almost anywhere these assholes would put him.

Amazingly, Bruce allowed Jason to Zeta up to see Sky.

The kid wasn’t doing so hot. He looked miserable, frightened, and small in the bed, arm in its cast and a plethora of injuries treated. His blue eyes seemed to clear a little of the obvious stress and tension when he saw Jason. “Robin!”

Jason hurried over, faster than he would normally move to visit someone in the medical ward. He had already sat on the edge of the bed before he saw that Artemis was there, book in her lap and seemingly coolly judging him.

He gave her a petulant look and turned back to Sky. “Hey, kid, how are they treating you?”

Sky looked at him, and said, “They’re not letting me leave. She’s watching me.”

The ease of before seemed somewhat gone, the kid quite shaken by what had happened. Anyone would be. He seemed to be swallowed up by the gown, a small kid for his age and kinda on the slender side as it was.

And Jason wanted to just rescue him, but like he hadn’t been able to before, he couldn’t now. “I know. It’s bullshit.”

Sky nodded, seeming to relax a little at the agreement. “I want…I need to go home. She’s going to be so worried.”

“I know, kid,” Jason sighed, understanding the sentiment. It was very clear that Sky desperately wanted his parent, even if that parent was Selina Kyle. Well…she did seem very affectionate towards him and shit, it wasn’t like she was a horrible parent, Jason guessed.

Sky bit his lip—and then abruptly burst into tears, the morphine undoubtedly doing wonders for his ability to hide his feelings. He tried to bring up his casted arm to wipe at his face, it apparently being his dominant hand—he couldn’t quite manage that, and instead was crying helplessly.

Jason broke out a packet of tissues (what? Everyone carried those, thank you) and swiftly wiped at Sky’s face. “Hey, hey, you’re gonna be okay, you’ll see.”

Sky seemed to know this was an empty promise and just cried more.

“Okay, uh, so, why Achelois? What’s that even mean?” Jason tried, attempting to distract him.

It worked. Sky managed, in a trembling voice, “That’s not how you p-pronounce it, it’s way more like Heloise. I think that’s where we get the name, actually.”

He demonstrated a proper pronunciation, which sounded a bit like he was saying ‘A Heloise’ or something, but it had the kid distracted, so Jason nodded along.

“It’s, uh, she’s a minor moon goddess in Ancient Greek mythology,” Sky explained a bit shyly, “I…chose my name when I was about ten and realized I was agender. Or, uh, I thought nonbinary at the time, but…it’s been kinda fluid, honestly, not easy to define.”

Jason tilted his head. “What’s that mean?” He said it without judgment this time, genuinely curious.

“That’s…it’s neither of the binary genders, I guess. Male or female,” Sky explained, seemed somewhat happy-nervous at explaining it. Like Jason was safe.

“Ah.” Jason wasn’t sure that was a thing…but obviously it was. And hey, so long as Sky was happy, right? Honestly, he’d kinda grown fond of the little idiot.

Sky chewed at his lip again, and said, “I, uh…I don’t want to date you. I just want you to know that. I didn’t from the start—you’re really attractive and all that, but, I, uh—“

Jason burst out laughing at that, finding it both funny and at the same time feeling bad for the way he’d acted so goddamn repulsed by the idea. “Hey, tiny paws, you’re fine. I was being an ass, kay? I’m only gonna be one on your behalf now. You got me?”

That made Sky grin a rather crooked grin, sort of unabashedly pleased at this.

“You wouldn’t be you without some ass-type qualities,” Sky teased, unable to hide the glowing mirth in his eyes at getting to say that. He was like a five year old getting to say fuck without consequences.

Jason nodded, “Yeah, and you wouldn’t be you without some dork-type qualities. I’m gonna talk to Bats and the rest, try to make them see sense and shit, so, you know, can’t promise anything, but I’m gonna try. Kay?”

Sky nodded, a little quiet but clearly hopeful. “Well, maybe you should get the shorts.”

“What?”

He grinned a touch mischievously. “Cause those gams are sexy and they’re going to have to listen then.”

Jason rolled his eyes, biting back a laugh. “Okay, you weirdo. You rest, I’ll go talk to them—without the shorts.”

He noticed Artemis there again, and she had a touch of a smirk, which made him flush. She did not need to know about the shorts. Though, she probably did, given how sharing Dick Grayson could be. That asshole probably shared all kinds of pics and shit about him.

He left at that, intending to find the goddamn adults and knock some sense into them.

Fuckasses needed to stop being lawful and start being good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah. Achelois was indeed a minor Ancient Greek moon goddess. I figure Tim, prior to changing his name and being ten, would try really hard to make it special and meaningful and spend hours on the internet searching.
> 
> Since Selina comes from Selene, the moon goddess of Ancient Greek myth, and I couldn't find any names that were good that were feline themed (like at all), I felt like Tim would go that route.
> 
> Especially being ten.
> 
> And Selina's gonna be fucking furious, needless to say.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason cusses out and kicks Superman. Not a smart plan.

Jason couldn’t have been more pissed with the goddamn leaders of their ‘community.’

He was sitting in on the meeting, mainly to give information on what happened, but they were going on like Selina was fucking awful for taking a kid out of a horrible foster home and loving him and shit. Like, what the fuck? He would have killed for that.

Well, technically he stole tires for that, kind of, but that was getting off topic.

“It seems this kid, Tim—“

“Sky.” Jason said it sharply.

“What?” The speaker, Oliver Queen, looked over at him. 

“His name is Sky.”

“It’s not his legal name,” came the point from Superman. Fucking asshole.

“So? He says his name is Sky. What do you say your name is, cause I bet the alienese name is not what you go by—“ 

“Robin.” Batman said it sharply, telling him to stop.

Well, he should have said Kryptonian, but he doubted that was what Bruce meant.

And fuck it, he wasn’t going to stop. “What the fuck kind of right do any of you have to take him like this? Fucking hell, he’s _happy_ with her, why do you gotta break that up?”

Superman looked at him with a tight jaw. “As for my Kryptonian name, that is a different matter entirely. His legal name is not going to land him in trouble for being an alien. More importantly, she is a criminal who has kidnapped a child—“

“Fuck that shit!” Jason snapped back.

Wonder Woman sat straighter, in a threatening way, blue eyes on him with a look that said he should behave.

And Jason wasn’t feeling slightly heated at the look, okay? That was not why his voice raised, as if trying to distract himself, as he shouted, “You’re a bunch of fucking dickholes if you think this is fucking okay!”

“Batman. Please keep Robin under control.” Superman said this sharply.

And Jason wasn’t going to be under control, he was going to fight, could feel the angry red on his own face like a sizzling pizza—

But Bruce said rather coldly, “He’s been through a trauma in which he was denied any control. I’m sorry about your delicate sensibilities, but I’m not going to force him not to speak.” His unspoken words? I agree with him.

And somehow, that sort of drained some of the building fury.

His face was still kinda warm, and his teeth clenched tightly, but Jason found he could breathe. He glared petulantly at Superman anyway.

Superman looked like he was taking a calming breath or counting to ten or some shit.

“Anyway,” he said, “Sky can’t be left with Catwoman on any account. Training a child to be a criminal is wrong. Anyone can see that.”

“Because the alternative is so much fucking better,” Jason snapped, not done losing his temper.

Wonder Woman was giving Bruce a look like, ‘You brought him in here to say the things you wanted to, didn’t you?’

“The alternative is a chance to be a law-abiding citizen,” Superman returned, looking like he thought he was being so goddamn patient with such a rebellious child.

“Fuck you, that’s not true! You don’t know what it’s like to be a goddamn foster kid, okay? So stop being such a goddamn dipshit fuckass—“ Jason’s breath seemed to choke off in his throat when he realized Superman was standing in front of him now.

“Robin. You have been invited to this meeting as a competent crimefighter. Please act like one.” Superman seemed annoyed, but still thinking he was being so good. So praiseworthy. His words roiled with feelings, unlike Bruce’s would have even with the same words.

“Crimefighters can curse if they fucking want, you piss-ass!” Jason snarled.

And he was being lifted. Jason’s body did a full jerk, a shock like a spark through him, before he fucking kicked Superman. In the goddamn kneecap, like he would anybody else, muscle memory being a bitch like that.

White hot pain went through his foot, and he cried out.

He realized that he was in Bruce’s arms the next second, a positively protective look on the Bat’s face. Anger. “…manhandle my son again,” came the end of a growled threat.

Wonder Woman had a hand on Superman’s arm, and Superman looking shocked, insisting, “I didn’t mean to hurt him, I was just going to put him outside for a moment to cool off—“

Jason let out a choked sound as his foot throbbed, reminding him it was probably broken. It fucking hurt, a whole lot, and he still hadn’t gotten over other injuries.

He felt weirdly trembly.

Bruce took him out without another word, silence more damning than anything he could say to Superman.

They went to the med bay, a separate area from Sky, and Jason got his foot scanned, his teeth clenched tightly together. He found out it was a couple of toes and a metatarsal that were broken, which was just peachy. The casting and pain meds were handled quickly, as his hand gripped the sheets tightly and he cursed his own stupidity in kicking goddamn Superman.

Bruce must be thinking the same thing, and Jason expected a sharp reprimand, a dressing down of his faults and how he would be benched for a long time, regardless of his foot healing.

Batman was only standing there, though, tight expression on his face.

When the treatment was done, Jason looked to him. “Please, Bruce, you can’t let them.” He couldn’t possibly feel more strongly about this, more able to imagine himself being ripped from one of the only parents who had loved him.

It had happened before, after all.

And the reply was a huge relief: “I’m not going to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am just trying to let off steam, but I hope y'all like the chapter. I feel like Jason would totally kick Superman.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sky reveals some of his past to Jason.
> 
> And now, they have an ally for getting Sky home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just kinda decided to refer to Tim as Sky in the chapter summaries now, I guess?

Jason felt like a moron, walking around with his leg in a cast, but hey, at least he could tell people he wasn’t afraid to fuck with the big man himself.

At least it wasn’t from, like, attempting to fight a child or some shit. That would be fucking humiliating.

Sky was going to be okay, this was something that he’d decided. Cause, well, yeah, he didn’t have a lot of power in comparison to Superman or some shit, but he did have the ability to be an annoying piece of shit.

Jason was very good at that.

Right then, he was with Sky. Zatanna was the one keeping an eye right now, and she was kinda a friend. Well, she liked Dick, and by extension, treated Jason pretty okay. Almost affectionately.

She was flipping through a tome at that point, not particularly concentrated on them.

Sky had been very nervous, but hadn’t panicked enough for them to do some shit like sedate him. That was smart, and Jason was impressed with him keeping his head. He knew he woulda probably panicked at that age, so, yeah, the kid was doing all right.

His smart blue eyes seemed to focus on Jason as Jason animatedly told about kicking Superman. 

“Totally saw him flinch, I swear to god,” Jason boasted, only flinching a little when he saw the smirk on Zatanna’s face as she contained her laughter.

“You kicked him pretty hard,” Sky said, eyes on Jason’s cast now. It was a plain white, but Dick had helpfully drawn a fat little Robin on it. Asshole.

“Yeah, yeah, I did. Probably a badass way to get a broken foot,” Jason said, squaring his shoulders.

“Very badass,” Sky agreed, almost quietly. His hands were tucked into his lap, the one in its own cast. He seemed to have gnawed away his fingernails, Jason realized, as he looked close. 

Well, not _all_ of his fingernails, just right down to the nubs.

“Sky. It’s gonna be okay,” Jason promised, “I’m gonna look out for you, kay?”

And Sky’s eyes were directed towards his face again, very sad and heavy. “You and I both know there’s not a lot kids can do when the grownups get involved.”

It made Jason’s stomach turn like a flopping fish. He wanted to insist it wasn’t true, that he was _Robin_ and of course he could protect him, but, well…

“Batman’ll protect you.”

Sky snorted. “That’s a prayer never answered.”

“Uh, what?” Jason asked, confused. Who the fuck prayed to Batman?

But Sky wasn’t looking at him now, biting his lip and then talking. “Who do you think I wished on a star to save me and stuff? I don’t know, I guess like kids pray to angels or something. Except mine was real, he just...didn’t know about me. Wasn’t going to come.”

Jason felt a little ill. “Save you from what?”

Sky’s eyes flashed to his, something of confusion, something of, ‘Did I say too much?’, but he continued on anyway in a small, small voice, “Things at home weren’t exactly good.”

And Jason remembered the dead eyed Timothy Jackson Drake. Remembered the stiff way he stood for the camera with his parents.

He wondered what exactly had gone down there.

Sky swallowed, a touch loudly, and said, “She saved me. She already knew about me, cause she’d find me sometimes when I was watching you guys. She...she’s like the mom I never had.”

The words, ‘But you had a mom,’ caught in Jason’s throat. He knew exactly that feeling. He knew exactly what it meant. His bio mom had never been much of a mother. His foster mother had been fantastic, until they’d forcibly moved him onwards.

“So, Catwoman knew about you all along and didn’t say _anything_ to Batman?” Jason asked, eyebrow raised. Fuck, that was ridiculous...and so exactly like Catwoman.

Sky nodded, picking at the edge of his cast. “Yeah. We talked some. I liked her a lot even then.”

He bit his lip again, and said, “And then, uh, she started asking things. Like, it was weird at the time.”

“What kind of things?” Jason asked, brow crinkling. He was slightly concerned, in all honesty, cause it sounded like Sky was admitting something weird.

“She...would ask about school. About my camera. How I was doing. If my cold was gone.” Sky shrugged. “Now, it seems really normal.”

Jason could see Zatanna doing kinda sad eyes. So he leaned in, carefully hugging Sky. “Hey, kiddo, that _is_ normal, kay? If your parents didn’t ask that shit, they’re shitty parents.”

He could feel Sky’s arms wrap around him, hesitantly at first, then rather tightly. His face in Jason’s shoulder. “I just...I wanna go _home_.”

He could feel Sky shudder, obviously wanting so badly to be home, and Jason could hardly blame the kid. Hell, he wanted him to go home. He wanted to see Sky happy and grinning and being a little shit if he wanted to be.

Batman came in then, and stood off a little. Sky settled back into the bed, out of the hug.

“Robin. Zatanna. I would like to speak with you.”

Jason was slightly surprised at that, as Zatanna stood. “Be good,” she said, with a wink at Sky, patting his ankle. Sky didn’t move out from under her touch.

Zatanna and Jason joined Bruce in the outside hall. Dick was already there. Jason felt like maybe he’d left out of the loop a little.

“Z’s in?” Dick asked, nodding towards Zatanna.

“Yeah, I’m in,” Zatanna responded.

Bruce had that grim look on his face, and turned to Jason. “We have a plan for getting Sky out and back home. And you have a part to play in it. Are you up to it?”

Jason was already nodding. “Do you even have to fucking ask?”

Dick laughed a little. “Okay, Little Wing, here’s the deal: you’re gonna play up that leg there.”

And Jason already knew he would be perfect for this plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written on the trip.
> 
> Poor Sky. Z's on their side, though! :D


End file.
